Picked up a Craigslist boat trailer last summer and have been working on turning it into a canoe hauler. Last step was completed last night- putting a flying moose on each fender. If you see it on the Gunflint in a few weeks say hello! Always feels good to finish a project.

Very nice! I hope you have mud flaps on your tow vehicle.

Wonderful conversion - very well done!

Wow. That is one sharp ride. Nicely done.

Great Job!

Nice.

I have to agree...great job!

Looks real slick. Did you do all the work yourself? Did you weld it or bolt things together? My folks have a utility trailer they used to haul haybails on and now only sees use for hauling brush (or my canoes). I've run lights and cabling on it so far, but I think I need to scour the rust off of it and give it a good dose of black rustoleum paint. Was also thinking about adding some eyelets for strapping (each summer when I use it I have to put the hooks on to the open end of the stock that was used to weld the frame, and it's a real pain in the butt). A spare tire mount on the front would be a good add-on, too...

It is welded. I picked up square stock, did all the design and cutting, and my Father in-law did the welding for me. It has new bearings and races as well as new rims and tires (including a third so I'd have a spare tire). The bed is varnished cedar which is a little over-the-top but it really wasn't much more than treated lumber and I'll be hauling my old wood/canvas canoes on here also so I thought the cedar would make them feel right at home.

I already have a utility trailer (that I used for hauling boats) but I could only get two canoes on it in addition to kayaks. I don't need to use this to haul anything but boats so the cedar bed will work fine for me. I can get up to six canoes if I need to (even more yaks).

I originally just had rolled up indoor/outdoor carpet on the rails for padding but it stayed wet for too long. I found a source for the same stuff they use on some of the commercial trailers and installed that. Oh, and I did just what you're thinking of- I sanded it down and used a foam brush to give it three coats of black rustoleum.

Very nice, you should start making more and selling.

quote

I originally just had rolled up indoor/outdoor carpet on the rails for padding but it stayed wet for too long. I found a source for the same stuff they use on some of the commercial trailers and installed that.

"

Just built one as well. Where did you find the rail material?

Bryan

quote ThreeScoutDad: "

quote


I originally just had rolled up indoor/outdoor carpet on the rails for padding but it stayed wet for too long. I found a source for the same stuff they use on some of the commercial trailers and installed that.


"

Just built one as well. Where did you find the rail material?


Bryan"

It was a while back and I'm having trouble finding it again. I should be able to go back through my email and find it later. Just an FYI- it doesn't come with any adhesive of any kind. I used a bead of silicone and pop riveted it every 9-10 inches or so.

very nice job. what are you going to use to cover the box?

quote kanoes: "very nice job. what are you going to use to cover the box?"

No cover. Paddles, PFD's, wet shoes, etc. If I need to haul packs in the trailer I will throw them in a contractor bag if I want them to be dry starting out a trip.

Looks really nice, what year was the trailer? Looks vintage

quote Ragged: "Looks really nice, what year was the trailer? Looks vintage"

I never checked before but I went out and looked. It's not as old as I would have guessed. Feb. 1978.

Nice work!

Very nicely done. To go back to a previously asked question about covering it and maybe asking a little differently, what are you planning to use to keep things from blowing or bouncing out? PFDs, paddles and wet shoes may not be there at the end of the trip if they aren't secured in some way. Just asking.

quote dblwhiskey: "Very nicely done. To go back to a previously asked question about covering it and maybe asking a little differently, what are you planning to use to keep things from blowing or bouncing out? PFDs, paddles and wet shoes may not be there at the end of the trip if they aren't secured in some way. Just asking. "

If it were me I'd go grab a bungee cargo net, I used those in the past to cover the bed of my truck while ice fishing, kept anything from blowing out.

quote Ragged: "

quote dblwhiskey: "Very nicely done. To go back to a previously asked question about covering it and maybe asking a little differently, what are you planning to use to keep things from blowing or bouncing out? PFDs, paddles and wet shoes may not be there at the end of the trip if they aren't secured in some way. Just asking. "

If it were me I'd go grab a bungee cargo net, I used those in the past to cover the bed of my truck while ice fishing, kept anything from blowing out."

I would agree that a bungee cargo net would work well as would other options but I wasn't sure if it had been considered as to how he might do it. As an over the road truck driver I see all types of things on the highway that have obviously come loose from vehicles as they travel down the road. I would think that it could be very upsetting to arrive at your entry poit to find your favorite paddle gone or a PFD or two missing. It's not how I would envision the start of a great trip.

You could end up one paddle short.

Trailers get bouncy and throw stuff out. Your bottom row of canoes (if on) will hold stuff in, but I'd have a cargo net.

quote cowdoc: "Trailers get bouncy and throw stuff out. Your bottom row of canoes (if on) will hold stuff in, but I'd have a cargo net."

No worries folks. We are on the road with the biggest load the trailer has seen. Half hitch, truckers knot, tautlines, bungee dealee-bobs AND a cargo net. Have checked the trailer twice. Nothing is going anywhere.

I like your trailer! I will honk at you if you are on the gunflint mid August. Marc

That is pretty cool Tim. I may have to stop by sometime and check that out. Troop 439 is getting more and more into canoeing and this may be a really nice project to have my boys work on. Thanks for sharing and Happy Paddling!!!

Excellent job.

Since I made this post the trailer has about 60 hours on the road in several trips. For anyone building a trailer I have found one issue that I still need to correct. With two Kevlar canoes on the top rack, when behind a semi, the canoes start to "swim". It's fine going down the road but get within 75 yards of a semi and they start moving back and forth. It's amazing to realize just how much air those trucks are pushing around. Anyway, I need to add some cross braces from the center support to the top yet to prevent- or at least lessen- that. Not a pressing issue for me because I have no more trips coming up this year where I'll need the top racks. But we'll get a little more steel and weld them up.

Looks sweet! I just got back from a trip riding in my son's 98 Chevy truck that did not have air or radio. I think this trailer would have been a more comfy ride.

quote onepaddleshort: "Since I made this post the trailer has about 60 hours on the road in several trips. For anyone building a trailer I have found one issue that I still need to correct. With two Kevlar canoes on the top rack, when behind a semi, the canoes start to "swim". It's fine going down the road but get within 75 yards of a semi and they start moving back and forth. It's amazing to realize just how much air those trucks are pushing around. Anyway, I need to add some cross braces from the center support to the top yet to prevent- or at least lessen- that. Not a pressing issue for me because I have no more trips coming up this year where I'll need the top racks. But we'll get a little more steel and weld them up."

Yup....I can feel those turbulents with canoes on the roof rack of my truck. Actually makes the truck lurch side to side so I can imagine what it does to a trailer.

What vehicle is towing this beauty? maybe a Mercedes?

quote andym: "Nice work!"

Very impressive job!

Dude! Between this and your canoe, you have been busy, and the quality of your work is outstanding!!!

quote Frenchy19: "Dude! Between this and your canoe, you have been busy, and the quality of your work is outstanding!!!"

Thanks. Two projects that took roughly a year of spare time. And this weekend the old canoe will ride on that trailer to one of my favorite places to paddle for its first paddle. Looking forward to that!

Nice looking trailer, just a reminder, anything that sticks out over the backend of the trailer 4 feet needs to be red flagged during the daytime and red lighted at night if pulled in Minnesota. FRED

quote FOG51: "Nice looking trailer, just a reminder, anything that sticks out over the backend of the trailer 4 feet needs to be red flagged during the daytime and red lighted at night if pulled in Minnesota. FRED"

I used some of the metal from the boat mounting stuff I removed to extend the lights out in order to be sure they are visible when running canoes on the bottom rack. I recently replaced all the wiring throughout the entire trailer and upgraded all the lights to waterproof LED. I have flags in the storage bin on the front and they're always on the canoes when going down the road. I also added reflectors to the end of every rack for night visibility. So this thing will stand out if you're approaching from behind at night.

But I have no idea how I'm going to run lights to the end of the canoe. I've never seen a canoe trailer with lights going to the end of the canoe. Who here lights the end of their canoe at night and how do you do it? Anybody?

On my trailer I built a rectangular framework covered with extruded metal ]like you find on metal walkways] that simply bolts on to the trailer, when I'm on the road it's down but when I hit the logging roads I flip it up so it doesn't drag going across washouts and deep ruts. The extension is about 3 feet long, so the canoes don't stick out over 4 feet. Like you I run with red flags even If I don't legally need them. The 4 feet is measured from the furthest point back on any vehicle. You might want to put a set of mudflaps on your trailer, zipping down gravel roads can raise havoc with your trailer lights. FRED

quote FOG51: "On my trailer I built a rectangular framework covered with extruded metal ]like you find on metal walkways] that simply bolts on to the trailer, when I'm on the road it's down but when I hit the logging roads I flip it up so it doesn't drag going across washouts and deep ruts. The extension is about 3 feet long, so the canoes don't stick out over 4 feet. Like you I run with red flags even If I don't legally need them. The 4 feet is measured from the furthest point back on any vehicle. You might want to put a set of mudflaps on your trailer, zipping down gravel roads can raise havoc with your trailer lights. FRED"

Well, I've spent some time researching this morning. I can't find any commercial canoe trailers that mention any plug-in lights to attach to the rear of the canoe. Nor can I find any requirement in Wisconsin to light the canoe (where my trailer spends 99% of its time). Also, I don't think I've ever pulled my trailer through the dark in MN- I'm always going through in daylight. And adding an unnecessary extension to my trailer seems counterproductive to highway safety. So, I'm going to just pay a fine if I get pulled over by an officer that wants to get out a tape measure and argue about a foot here or there.